Fatal Bus Crash in Nepal Kills 19, Including British Tourist

A crowded passenger bus traveling from Pokhara to Nepal's capital city crashed off a mountain highway early Monday morning, resulting in 19 deaths and 25 injuries. The accident occurred after midnight when the vehicle veered off the Prithvi highway and tumbled down a mountainside near the Trishuli river. Among the casualties was a 24-year-old British citizen, while injured passengers included travelers from China and New Zealand.

KATHMANDU, Nepal — Tragedy struck on a mountain highway in Nepal during the early morning hours Monday when a passenger bus carrying dozens of travelers crashed off the roadway, claiming 19 lives and injuring 25 others.

The fatal accident happened shortly after midnight as the crowded vehicle made its journey from the tourist destination of Pokhara toward Nepal’s capital city of Kathmandu. The bus veered off the Prithvi highway and tumbled down the mountainside, eventually coming to rest along the Trishuli river near Benighat, located approximately 50 miles west of Kathmandu.

Authorities from the Dhading district police office confirmed that a 24-year-old British citizen was among the fatalities. Officials have only been able to identify nine of the victims so far.

The wounded passengers included international travelers, with a Chinese national receiving care at Kathmandu’s National Trauma Center and a 27-year-old New Zealand woman being treated for minor injuries at a nearby medical facility. China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported through the Chinese Embassy in Nepal that another Chinese citizen remains unaccounted for.

Emergency responders quickly arrived at the crash scene and worked to extract the injured from the damaged bus before transporting them to area hospitals, according to government administrator Mohan Prasad Neupane.

Authorities have launched an investigation to determine what caused the deadly crash.

Such transportation disasters occur frequently throughout Nepal, primarily attributed to inadequate road maintenance and vehicle upkeep. The mountainous Himalayan nation relies heavily on narrow roadways that wind through challenging terrain.

The bus came to rest beside the rapidly flowing mountain waterway. In 2024, two separate buses carrying 65 passengers plunged into this same river and disappeared, with most occupants either confirmed dead or never recovered. Debris from one of those vehicles was only discovered this year, buried beneath layers of sand.